It was a very uplifting experience to listen to Rebecca Eggleston and Rebecca Clarkson from project manager FORM last eve at the Fremantle Network function at Clancys. The ladies talked about the Fremantle 100 Hampton Road social housing project.

This is not simply about providing accommodation for those in need but also about supporting them with social and life-skill issues.

100 Hampton is a 190-bed lodging house where residents receive a single room and shared kitchen, bathroom and laundry facilities for 25% of their income.

But what FORM creates is also a safe environment with cooking, furniture-making, bike repair classes, and on Wednesdays it is shared-lunch day.

100 Hampton is about taking the paranoia out of the neighbourhood by trying to be better neighbours, and communicate and collaborate with those who live around them.

They create recreational opportunities for the residents and support them. They also make cheap living much more enjoyable with great art murals, beautification of the building and a social room to share and receive visitors.

As the Rebeccas said, more housing like this will be needed in the future.

I believe it is so important to give people self-worth and make them feel good about how and where they live and this project appears to tick all the positive and life-changing boxes. Well done!

I am delighted to hear that the Fremantle HIDDEN TREASURES WINTER MUSIC FESTIVAL is returning to the West End of the city an I hope it will be as successful as the first one they held there, with local shops staying open and putting furniture out on the street and people having a drink around open fires. It was a very cool event and much appreciated by the very many people who attended the concerts.

Every Thursday in July from 7 pm there will be music at the Workers Club, The Navy Club, the Buffalo Club and PS Art Studios, and it will only cost $ 10.00 for a ticket that will allow entry to all the four venues on the night. That is dirt cheap, especially with the bar prices also below pub prices. So make Thursday night your traditional Friday pub night in July.

Expect some outstanding highlights during July when the super group Midfield Legends plays, or go and listen to Gutterville Splendour Six, or attend Jam Notion by Catch Music.

Today at 12 noon the Member forFremantleSimone McGurk, Mayor Brad Pettitt and Fremantle Society President Henty Farrar will hand over the petition to Local Government Minister TonySimpson against the State Government’s proposal to merge Fremantle with Melville. The Fremantle Forever campaign collected thousands of signatures around Fremantle asking State Government to reconsider the boundaries.

The Fremantle Forever campaign grew out the Sock It Colin! campaign, initiated by the Fremantle Society with a full page advertisement in the Fremantle Herald, and became an a-political and bipartisan community movement with the positive agenda to suggest better alternative boundaries to grow Fremantle to a larger local council.

Close collaboration with the City of Fremantle meant we agreed that merging with Melville would not be beneficiary for Fremantle, but merging with East Fremantle and moving the boundaries further South into Cockburn, as far as Russell Road and as far East as Stock Road would make cohesive new boundaries for a larger Fremantle. The City followed this up with an advertising campaign in the local papers and strong lobbying. First indications from State Government were that they agreed and they significantly changed their proposal to accommodate Freo’s wishes.

Local government reform has now been handed to the Local Government Advisory Board who will present State Government with its preferred boundaries in the next weeks. The State can then accept or reject those suggested boundaries, but not change them. The anticipation in Fremantle and other councils is high, with many councils rejecting change and amalgamations and some wanting to take legal action.

How many local governments will W.A. have after the reform and what will the new boundaries be? I for one hope State Government will largely accept the recommendations by Fremantle Council, because the new boundaries they suggest make far more sense than a merger with Melville.

It is very positive to see the progress at FremantleBathers Beach, with the development of the former Fishermen’s Co-op building going well ahead and taking shape. It is estimated the new tavern there will open in late August , but there is still a lot of work to be done before it can become a real beach front destination for tourists and locals.

There is also improvement around Kidogo Arthouse. Big blocks of limestone pavers are being put around the building to help with the dust problems, and it will be looking very good once finished in two weeks. The dust suppression spray has not been a success because the constant coming and going of people and vehicles in the area creates dust that the easterly winds blow into the gallery spaces. A better solution for that problem should be found, because the new tavern will attract many more people to the area regularly, and more disturbance of the surface, and dust and art don’t go well together.

The boardwalk has been a real success. It’s a delight to see that there are now so many people there watching the sunset from there. In an ideal world the boardwalk should have gone all the way to J Shed, to create a promenade for Fremantle and real connectivity between Victoria Quay and the Fishing Boat Harbour. Who knows what the future brings in a world full of desires, hey.

The Planning Services Committee of the City of Fremantle will this evening debate to allow the alfresco extension of the CARRIAGE CAFE on the Esplanade Reserve. The cafe has become a real Freo ikon on one of our few inner city’s public green spaces, so I hope the CoF will be sympathetic toward the proposed changes. With the new Youth Plaza next to it the cafe will be catering for more people and needs more space, and the proposed changes are in my opinion sensitive to the environment and A Class reserve. The CoF officer recommends that the PSC will approve of them.

I have always wanted to see a small structure that would allow for weddings and wedding functions on the Esplanade and maybe the enlarged alfresco of the Carriage could at least accommodate small wedding parties.

I am delighted to report that the interpretive history signs at the Fremantle Old Port Project are back. They were installed at Bathers Beach this morning by Compac Marketing.

It was only yesterday I complaint on this blog about them being missing for a year and a half, so it is good to have them back. It makes me wonder though about the lack of communication by the Cityof Fremantle. When all over the world companies and governments engage in pro-active PR, the City could not be bothered letting me know the signs were in the making and the approximate time of installation. Had they done that, I would not have had to write negative articles about the missing signs and the CoF.

Kaya, you mob! The FREMANTLE ABORIGINAL CULTURAL CENTRE has released it’s Makuru(Winter) program and there are some interesting things there so check out the full program here: http://www.fremantlestory.com.au/your-story/see-do/galleries-and-studios/aboriginal-cultural-centre/aboriginal-cultural-centre.html

There are two things I might participate in and that is the Nyoongar Wangkanini language classes. They are on June 3, 10, 17 and 24 from 4.30-5.30 and from 5.30-6.30, and the Nyoongar Cross Cultural Workshop also sounds interesting. That will be on June 10 from 11-12 and on July 2 from 11-12.

Bookings are essential so they know how many of us wadjelas will take part.

Fremantle is getting a retail boost in the West End of the City with several businesses opening shop there soon. In PSAS art studios in Pakenham Street Studio 37 Cafe is opening with great coffee made by barista Tom Wearne, known from Chalkys and the Moore&Moore Cafe.

At 82 High Street, where New Edition bookshop previously was, Common Ground will open with lots of fashion, a cafe, small bar, studios, and it will also be available for events and functions. They will be trading seven days a week and are one of the first recipients of the City of Fremantle Business Attraction Incentives that gave them a direct up front cash payment of $ 10,000.

Also opening in High Street is Vintage and Fair Trade boutique BiBi, who also received COF support, and of course New Edition will re-open soon on the corner of High and Henry Street next to Brooker Furniture.

Common Ground and BiBi both come from MANY 6160, the retail incubator at Kings Square.

The CoF Business Attraction Incentives is a scheme to attract new retailers to Fremantle and will pay up front cash, give discounted rates to landlords, or discounted leases of City owned buildings, similar to a scheme that is in place at the City of Perth.

The lease figures for 82 High Street I have heard mentioning are huge, so I sincerely hope the Common Ground operators have done a very realistic assessment of where Freo’s retail is at.

It will be some time yet until we see the run down Fremantle Town Hall getting a new coat of paint. One of our City’s most iconic buildings has been neglected by the COF for years, but it now appears just putting a new, and very expensive, coat of paint on our civic heart is not an option, due to previous paint jobs having used the wrong materials.

The acrylic paint that was used has been damaging the walls by causing damp, so the best option might be to remove all that paint, as was done with the Perth Treasury Building. To be able to assess what needs to be done, a large sample panel will be prepared this year where the paint will be removed, so that Fremantle Heritage Coordinator Alan Kelsall can have a good look at it.

It is great that Alan Kelsall is such a purist and stickler for detail when it comes to heritage preservation, but one has to wonder who at the City of Fremantle signed off on using acrylic paint on the heritage building in the first place.

On this special day for Christians I would like to reach out to my friends at Fremantle Sunset Events and give them this tip:

As part of the Leighton Beach Reserve upgrade the City will be demolishing the building that was utilised as a kiosk and fabricating a new building as replacement. Applicants are invited to submit proposals to lease and fit out the new kiosk.The kiosk needs to cater for general beach goers by providing convenience take-away type snacks and be non exclusive, but may also include sit down facilities as well.

I know the City is only advertising for a kiosk, but should you at Sunset Events decide to put a proposal for a micro brewery and outdoor music venue there, I am certain it will be warmly embraced by most Councillors, who like to ignore their own Expression Of Interest requirements, so go for it!

You will find there will be less opposition by local residents, and less parking and noise issues at the Leighton location than at J Shed on Bathers Beach. There are also no heritage considerations at Leighton Beach.

Happy to have been of assistance to you, Sunset Events. No payment required. ; >)